


Stoneheart

by LayeredTrash



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Césaire Ships It, Angst, Cute, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Jealous Adrien Agreste, Light Angst, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Miraculous Ladybug Origins, Nino Lahiffe Ships It, Oblivious Adrien Agreste, Oblivious Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Plagg Cares, Plagg Is So Done, Plot, Poor Adrien, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Protective Chat Noir, Spoilers, Supportive Tikki, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 17:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14623452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LayeredTrash/pseuds/LayeredTrash
Summary: The story's set in Stoneheart, basically a "what if" storyline. Adrien find's out Hawkmoth's idenity in the first month of being Chat Noir. Hawkmoth tell's him why he's doing what he's doing, causing Adrien to betray Ladybug.He has to fight himself, because of the remorse he feels for his actions. Causing a lot of emotional conflict. Marientte has the same conflict's about her having to fight Chat, knowing she needs to protect the city but not wanting to hurt Chat Noir.He and Ladybug are basically enemies, meaning they fight regularly. What he doesn't know is that he regularly fight's one of his classmates.Adrien is 14, and Marinette is 15. Adrien did have feelings for Ladybug, not as intense as they are in the show given he only got to know her for a month. Marinette also doesn't have the same intense feelings for Adrien.If you don't want to read the touched up version of the Stoneheart episode and just wanna cut to the chase, then start on Chapter 3.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not trying to write this perfectly, I'm simply writing this for fun. I do apologize for any annoying grammar mistakes though lol. Please enjoy! maybe leave a like or a comment... or just exit the page once you're done, I won't be mad. Also I archived "Major Character Death" but I'm not exactly sure how I'm gonna end up ending this... So yeah. I've never used archive of our own before, so I wasn't fully sure what I was doing when I was tagging stuff so... I guess I'll see how that goes.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she thought of herself as a pretty average girl. She didn't have much going on. She did her school work, ate a balanced meal, watched tv. The only thing she really wanted to do was design. She loved to make things, whether it was drawing, baking or just crafting in general. She loved to make hats, dresses, skirts, sweaters, etc. etc. She had been very creative from a young age. She loved her parent's, and would often happily make time to be around them. Though she enjoyed her parent's company, (Sabine Cheng, and Tom Dupain), she couldn't help but feel lonely. Marinette had friends, but nobody she really felt that close to. The most interaction she had with one of her classmates, was with a girl named Chloe, Chloe Bourgeois. It wasn't pleasant either, Chloe would push her around often, making Marinette the target of many of her cruel jokes. 

Marinette walked down to the bakery to pick up the cookies her dad and prepared for her to bring to the class. They had a pretty good turn out each day. Enough that they weren't poor, nor were they rich. Enough that they didn't have to be worried about their financial situation. It was nearly time for school, at this time she'd usually be sitting at the dinning room table, eating cookies while looking at Gabriel Agreste's newest collections. She'd think about what'd she create if she had the status and money to make such prestigious work. Gabriel's work was so intricate, so detailed. She loved the flow and the edge that his designs had, it carried such confidence. Something Marinette wished she had more of. 

She took her time walking to school, though it wasn't very far. She couldn't help but be anxious, it was her first day back to high school. Marinette wasn't the type to be pushed around, but when it came to Chloe... she couldn't understand why she couldn't just stand up for herself more. The only thought's in her mind were revolving around Chloe. What was she going to do. She looked at her phone, realizing she wanted to get to class early so she could get her usual seat. Marinette began to run, before coming to a crosswalk and almost running straight into a car. There behind the car stood an old man, slowly walking across with a cane in hand. Marinette noticed a car speeding down the road towards him, and the man wasn't moving fast enough to get out of the way. Marinette ran into the street grabbing the man's hand and pulling him onto the sidewalk, before she tripped onto the hard concrete, spilling a quarter of the macarons onto the ground. The old man thanked her for saving him, before taking one of the macrons from the box that hadn't been ruined, "These are very good!" he said as he began walking away. "Thank you!" she yelled to him. Marinette still rushed with a bit of adrenaline, began to sprint her way over to Françoise Dupont High School. 

She walked up to the steps, looking up at the tall building before her eyes. She began walking up the stairs, before noticing a girl walk past her. A girl she hadn't seen before. She looked similar to Marinette's age, but she wore jeans and a plaid shirt. She had black rimmed glasses, each side dotted with a white spot. She had hair that went a little past her shoulders, tan skin, and a set of Hazel eyes. Marinette couldn't help but be captivated by her, they didn't get new students often. Marinette walked into the classroom, choosing to sit in her regular seat. She sat on the right side of the room, if you counted from where the teacher stood. Her bench was behind the front row. To her surprise sat the girl, the one she saw earlier. She sat down next to her, smiling awkwardly before saying "Uh, hi.. my name's Marinette." she said with an over glistening smile. "Hah, nice to meet you Marinette!" the girl exclaimed. Marinette was a little surprised, she expected the girl to be shy. "My name is A-" The girl was cut off by Chloe, and another girl with red hair standing next to their bench. Her voice distinctly more annoying than most of the voices she had heard before. _"Hello?" _she dragged the word, longer than she should've. She held a with a whiny tone that you could only identify with hers. "Marinette get out of our spot, and take the trashy new girl with you." She said getting in Marinette's face. Marinette surprised, a little shocked. "I've always sat here Chloe? why do you want this seat all of the sudden." Chloe smirked, giving off a vibe that she was going to ramble on about something Marinette really didn't care about. Marinette suddenly realized the mistake she made, why did she have to ask that stupid question. "Well, since you asked... Adrien Agreste is coming to our high school! I'm his best friend. He completely adores me. He's a celebrity, a model, and he's super rich! I need to sit behind him. So you better move." Marinette was about to speak up, before turning to the girl next to her to hear, "Hah, we're suppose to move just because you want us to? I don't see a seat chart anywhere." She said with a vicious grin, causing Chloe to snap back "Excuse you! I-I just. Get out of my seat!" The tempered girl grabbed Marinette's hand getting out of the seat, "It's not like it matters that much" she said with a giggle, moving to the other side and into the front row. Marinette looked at her before saying "You handle Chloe so well, I wish I could handle her the way you do." the girl chuckled causing her to place her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "My name's Alya, and its all thanks to my favorite superhero! Majestia. She says that 'All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is that the good guys do nothing.' and that girl, she's clearly evil. We're the good guys, we can't let her get away with it." Alya smiled.__

____

During class, another kid attempted to enter the school. A boy named Adrien Agreste. He had ran all the way to the school from his house, trying to outsmart his bodyguard and his dad's assistant Nathalie. "Adrien wait!" yelled Nathalie, stepping out of a black limo, the bodyguard following close behind her. "You know what your father wants!" she yelled rushing towards him. Adrien swung around, snapping back with "But this is what I want!" he began to turn towards the school, when he saw an old man, with a cane, fall to the ground. Adrien thoughtlessly ran towards the man, helping him up as if it was instinct. "Thank you, young man." The old man retreated. Adrien turned to face Nathalie, knowing that he had missed his chance. He moped his way back to the car, shamelessly staring at the building as the car left. 

____

Marinette noticed a scuffle between two of her classmates, right after class had officially ended. "Stop it Kim!" Ivan groaned, struggling to get the piece of paper back from Kim. "You should just her you wuss!" Kim laughed, dangling the note Ivan had written during class. "I'm gonna beat-" Ivan began to clinch his fist, before being interrupted by Miss. Bustier, "Ivan! head to the principles office. Violence is never the answer." Ivan wore a scowl on his face as he marched out of the room. He began walking towards the principles office, but before he could make it there a black butterfly attached to the note he was holding. A red mask appeared along his skin, but instead of material it was more like a stain shaped in the form of a mask. "Stone heart, I am Hawkmoth. I give you the power to seek revenge on those who have wronged you." A silence remained, but not for long. "Okay Hawkmoth." 

____

Marinette was told to return home as fast as possible. She was nearly out of breath, rushing through the bakery and up two flights of stairs and into her bedroom to turn on the news. "It seem's Paris is being attacked by a Stone monster! everyone stay indoors for your own safety!" She looked at her computer table to see a small red and black box, with some type of intricate design. She opened up the box, a bright light shinning into her eyes. The light formed into a small.. "Bug?! A giant Bug!? wait no. A MOUSE!" Marinette ran across the room, trying to find a broom, or a cup of some sort. "Hey, don't be scared! I'm not going to hurt you." explained the small entity. Marinette ran towards a jar she saw in the corner of the room, putting the thingy under the jar. "Well, if this makes you feel better." she smiled. 'What are you?" asked Marinette. "I'm your Kwami!"

____

Meanwhile another person was going through the same thing. "Plagg? that's kind of a weird name." Adrien chuckled, watching Plagg fly across the room. "Whatever, I've filled you in on most of everything. Oh, when you want to transform, say 'Claws out' an-" to Plagg's shock, Adrien started to say the words "Plagg, Claws out!" Yelled Adrien, ridiculously happy about his new found power. "I still have more to ex-" Plagg started to be sucked into the powerful ring, struggling to finish his sentence. Adrien felt his whole body become surrounded by an unexplainable force. "Wow, guess I need to go save the world." He opened the window, gliding his way out and into the city.

____

Marinette threw her yoyo shaped gadget towards a tall building, it latched onto something and she then found herself being flung across Paris. While Adrien walked along his own gadget, his poll that can stretch however long he wants (wink wonk.) He was balancing pretty well until he spotted a girl, falling from the sky. She landed onto him causing them to start falling towards the ground. Luckily her yoyo swung along his staff (oh my god.) saving them from hitting the ground, but entangling them together. "Nice of you to drop in." he chuckled. "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." She exclaimed. "You're the partner my Kwami told me about. My name is... Chat, Chat Noir." He grinned. He reached for her hand, kissing her hand softly, slowly raising his eyes to her's. "I see you're a flirt." she smiled, tapping the bell on his collarless chest. "It's okay, I don't mind" she said with a devilish grin. 

____

After loads of crap, aka them getting the akuma and then Marinette not actually _getting_ the akuma... 

____

"Just leave it to the experts. You've already failed once, we don't need you to screw up again." said the cop, his voice showing no empathy towards the girl. Ladybug turned to Chat, "He's right, I screwed up. This is all my fault, they picked the wrong person to be Ladybug. I'm so sorry Chat." Marinette said as she stuffed her head into her hands. "I knew I couldn't do this." She whispered underneath her breath. "Hey, don't say that. This city needs us, needs you. You see her, right there" he extended his arm to her shoulder, slightly turning her to point at Chloe. "She would've died, a lot of these people would've died without you. I've seen you in action, you're going to be amazing, cause you already are." Her eyes widened, they shared a brief stare, a short moment of silence. "Thanks Chat." he smiled. 

____

"Pound it!"

____


	2. Wrong Time, Wrong Place.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the chapters called. If Adrien hadn't showed up at the right time, at the wrong place, he wouldn't have found out. Him finding out is what causes this whole story to go out of wack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, I still have a small type of recapping to go over, but not nearly as much as there was in the first chapter. Hope you make it to the end. Good luck.

Adrien Agreste. People always had a kind of jaded perspective of his life, assuming he was one of the luckiest kids out there. Though Adrien didn't feel very lucky. His dad barely spoke to him since his Mom left, and even then he was always busy working. He was honestly just very lonely, and he had been, for a very long time now. He could never go out without a bodyguard or his dad's assistant, he could barely do anything without some type of approval. He tried to make his father proud of him, or even to get him to speak to him at all, but he always ended up feelings like he wasn't doing enough, he could never get his fathers approval. The only thing he wanted to do was go to school. Meet people, have friends, maybe even a bestfriend, possibly a girlfriend. He wasn't that hard to handle, he didn't cause tons of trouble. He did everything his dad asked of him, basketball, fencing, chinese, piano, the list went on. He studied, he went to bed at a reasonable time. Why couldn't his dad just let him have one thing, one thing that _he _wanted. "Plagg, claws out!" Adrien ducked behind a wall and transformed back into his civilian self, rushing towards the entrance. He noticed the limo pulling alongside the curb. "How did they?!" Nathalie stepped out, "Adrien pleas-" Adrien sighed, running up the steps. "I'm sorry Nathalie, just please, tell him you got here too late." Nathalie sighed, she retreated back towards the car. "I'll take care of it."__

Adrien walked into the classroom, feeling a sense of victory considering he finally made it into the building. He saw Chloe standing near a bench, her eyes lit up by the sight of him. She began to lead him towards the classroom, and then being lead by Chloe into the the front bench, he looked over to the seat next to him to see a boy sporting a blue T-Shirt, a red cap, and a set of headphones. "Hey, I'm Adrien" he said extending his hand to the boy, "You're friends with Chloe then huh.." the boys eyes gazing off towards Chloe and her friend Sabrina. Adrien turned his eyes to them, watching Chloe take out a piece of gum from her mouth, she then gave it to Sabrina to place onto the seat across from him. "Hey, what's that all about?" Adrien stood to lean his hand on the table. "The brats who sat here yesterday, they need a little lesson on how they should treat their superiors." Adrien rolled his eyes, forgetting just how much of a bitch Chloe could be. "I don't think that's necessary." he said leaning onto his knee's, trying to take it off. Chloe and Sabrina went back into their seats, leaving Adrian to fidget with the gum. Marinette and Alya walked in. Marinette furiously strutting towards him "Hey! what are you doing?!" she groaned, a little stunned by the kid she's never seen before placing gum onto her seat. Chloe and Sabrina began to laugh, " 'ha ha ha' very funny you three." Adrien began to feel a small rush of worry throughout his mind, "No, I was just trying to take it off!" Marinette scowled, putting her face right up to his, "Oh really!" She slightly shoved Adrien out of the way, while taking out a piece of paper from her bag and placing it on top of the gum. She turned to Adrien, her knees still firmly set on the ground, "You're friends with Chloe, right?" the anger and frustration naturally flowing through her voice. "Why does everyone keep saying that." Adrien sighed, before he could finish he thought, Marinette stood up and whipped her head the opposite direction of him, while returning to her seat. Adrien sat down, saddened by the event that just followed, just to hear behind him "See, a couple of brats am I right." Chloe giggled, "Shut up Chloe." he whispered underneath his breath. Marinette looked to Alya, "Doesn't he look familiar?" said Marinette, an annoyed tone rolling off of her tongue. Before Alya could reply Marinette answered her own question. "Oh! he's the son of my favorite designer! Gabriel Agreste." She stated, realizing it was kind of a let down that he turned out to be a dick. 

After class, Marinette leaned onto the wall, looking up the weather on her phone. "Rain? seriously, it was sunny a little while ago. I should've brought my umbrella like mom told me to." she sighed. She saw Alya leaving the school, and began to chase after her. "Hey Alya! I wanted to get your phone number." Marinette smiled, hoping she wouldn't decline. "Sure girl." Alya and Marinette exchanged phones. "Thanks! see you tomorrow." Gleamed Alya as she walked to her moms car. Adrien sat on a bench next to Nino. Adrien's gaze distracted by Marinette standing at the entrance. "You should go talk to her." Nino said, trying to gently push Adrien onto his feet. "You wanna make friends? then go talk to her." Adrien gave a smile to Nino, as he slowly began to approach her. Marinette inching her way outside, putting her hand into the rain to feel how strong the rain drops were. She noticed someone walk past her, opening an umbrella over his head. She realized it was that guy, Adrien. She turned her head, trying to give the cold shoulder. Adrien sighed, turning his head. "I just wanted you to know, I was only trying to take the gum off of your seat, I swear." Marinette slowly turned around to face him. "I've never been to school before." Adrien's eyes started to trail off, "I've never had friends." Adrien gaze into a puddle, reflecting Marinette's expression, causing him to bring his eyes back to hers, "This is all really.. new to me." In a split second decision, he turned around so that he stood towards her. He took his umbrella out from under his head, and extended it towards Marinette's hand. He could feel the rain starting to drench his hair. and thoroughly soak his clothes, but he didn't really care. Marinette was stunned. Her eyes meeting with his for a solid, quiet, couple of seconds. She slowly began to reach for the umbrella, Adrien grabbing her hand and placing the umbrella in the cup of her hand. Marinette stood there silent, still maintaining eye contact. There was something about him, she couldn't place what she was feeling. Before she could speak, she hit a button on the handle, causing the umbrella to close on her suddenly. They both stood there, quiet for a few moments. Adrien tried to hold back a laugh, but he couldn't hold it in any longer. He began to hysterically laugh, as Marinette peaked her face out from the umbrella, letting out a smile and a laugh as well. "I'll see you tomorrow." Adrien smiled, waving as he began walking to the limo. Marinette still kind of frozen, quickly unfroze trying her best to say "Y-y-eah, se-see you tomorrow! hah" she looked down at the ground, a small rush of confusion coming over her, "why am I stammering?" she said, deep down knowing exactly why she was. "Hmm I think I know why." Tikki replied, a smirk on her face as she flew up to Marinette's cheek. Plagg coming out from Adrien's shirt, sporting a smug tone "First day of school, and it looks like we already have two lovebirds." Plagg stared up at Adrien with an eye raised. Adrien paused for a moment, before replying with "Whatever, she's just.. a friend." Adrien took a breath, realizing he could call her, "a friend.." he held a warm smile, slowly climbing into the car, forgetting he had just gotten into the limo soaking wet. Marinette stood there, watching the car drive off. Marinette thought "He's so.. nice. He touched my hand, does that mean? no, no, of course not.. He just touched my hand because he was handing me the umbrella... right?" Marinette started to blush, getting more flustered the more she thought about it. "Oh Tikki!! what am I going to do?!" she ran down the stairs, Tikki giggling as Marinette explained her out of control thought process.

"This is the 5th time Paris is saved by Ladybug and Chat Noir! would either of you like to comment?" Ladybug leaned into the microphone, "I'm sure Hawkmoth can hear us, I'd like to remind him that his attempts will never be anything more than an attempt. Me and Chat Noir, we're unstoppable." Chat smiled, he then leaned into the mic, "I couldn't have said it better myself." His ring started to flash, and so did Ladybug's earrings. "I gotta go, bug out!" She threw her yoyo, catching onto the building, gliding her across the city. "That's my queue!" Chat quickly ran into an empty ally way, then changing back to his usual self. "Oh Plagg, I'm pretty sure my dad told me to meet him in his office at 4:30 P.M today, its like 3:57 P.M, we need to hurry up." Adrien hurried back home. He walked into his fathers office around 4:21 P.M, searching around for his dad. "Are you in here?" he walked around, he stood where the portrait of his mother was. He stared intently, every photo of his mom only reminded him off that he didn't even know where she was. He felt tears starting to form, feeling the pain so easily take over him in an instant of a thought, he leaned his hand onto the portrait. He then froze, his tears suddenly coming to a stop. His index finger had gone into the painting, He thought to himself "a button?" he started to feel around the rest of the painting, finding two other buttons on the opposite side, he spent a few minutes searching until he found the other three. He pressed them all at once, nothing was happening. "Hm, that's kinda we-" Before Adrien could finish his sentence, a circular part of the floor started to decline. "Plagg hide" Plagg retreated into Adrien's shirt. He waited, as it kept declining. His nose still runny from the few tears that had escaped his eyes. Finally he could see a peak of an opening at his feet, it rose to his knee's then to his chest, and finally to his eyes. It stood before him, a large empty, dome shaped room. Dark, with only one sound. The sound of hundreds of wings flapping. "No.. No, no, no, no." Adrien started to back up, trying to deny the only reasonable thought for why this was here, right under his dad's office. "No.." He kept on backing up, until he hit something. Not something, someone. A shock went through his body like a lightning bolt striking the ground. "Hawkmoth." Adrien said, slowly turning around to face the person he had backed into. "I thought I told you 4:30 Adrien." Adrien felt a crushing feeling of disappointment, mixed with anger, sadness, confusion, and denial. "D-dad?" His voice shakey, hoping that the figure would tell him that he was not his dad. "I guess there's no point in hiding it." Gabriel stepped out of the dark, raising the windows so that they could see a bit more. "Yo- you're not my dad. Hawk m- my dad would nev- how could you!" Adrien could barely work out a simple sentence." Gabriel gave an agitated look. "If I get Ladybug and Chat Noir's ring, I can make one wish." Adrien froze, realizing he needed no further explanation, the only reason that made sense. "Mom" he thought to himself. "Don't you want your mom back? this is the only way. We've tried private investigators, the police, her family. We've tried everything Adrien, and what did we get from that? nothing." Gabriel placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "Will you help me?" Adrien felt the anxiety spreading from what felt like his chest. "What about Ladybug.. Plagg, all of those innocent people Hawkmoth puts in danger.." he thought, trying to remain calm. He could barely think, he could feel Plagg tugging on his shirt, he didn't want to let him down. His thoughts, his hearts truest desire started to take over the rational part of his mind, "Mom, I could see her again. I can be happy again, _we _can be happy again." Adrien tried to push down his feelings, hoping eventually they'd fade away. "No. I can't help you!" Adrien began to storm off. He only made it as far as the office. There in front of his eyes, a drawing inside of a picture frame, remained untouched on the shelf. Adrien picked up the picture, remember when he stared up at his mom, trying to get her hair and face just right. It never turned out the way he thought it would, but he thought at the time it was better then how he thought it would look. "I'm sorry Plagg" Adrien began to ignore the voices of reason trying to stop him from making a huge mistake, he began to drag himself back down to the lair, stuffing down all the things trying to tell him to keep his head on straight, don't do it, don't give in. Adrien wouldn't listen. He _couldn't _listen. It wasn't fair, he needed his mom. "I'm Chat Noir."____

___ _

___"It looks like another Akuma has created another Villain, she calls herself "The Psycho" she can pick up your weakness's from how you speak, she was formally a psychiatrist. Everyone please be safe, Ladybug and Chat Noir should turn up soon." Marinette quickly scuffled up from her bed, "Tikki, Spot's on!" Marinette swung to a roof top, searching to find the Akuma. "Spotted." In the distance stood a woman, she wore bright red hair with the tips dyed green, and a long white jacket, half of the bottom dyed black. "All I do is listen to everyone's problems, but nobody ever want's to listen to mine!" The woman stood on the top of the Eiffel tower, then making her way towards Ladybug. "Where could that akuma be?" Marinette thought, hoping it'd be something easy to spot. The woman lunged at her, causing Marinette to slide on her feet into a roll. "Nice try, but I'm not that easy to read." Ladybug smiled, hoping Chat would show up soon. "Oh dear Ladybug, the cockiness in your voice is full of false confidence. The more you speak the more you reveal." she smiled, rushing at Ladybug with a clipboard. Ladybug decided to retreat, hoping she could find Chat, she slid out of the way, quickly diving into an ally way. She turned into the shadow of the ally, watching as the Psycho moved past her. Marinette sighed in relief, hoping the cat would show his face. "Not a safe place for a lady like you." Marinette jumped, startled, quickly took out her yoyo. Out of the shadows stepped Chat, wearing a smile she couldn't quite read. "Oh, it's just you." She smiled, lowering her yoyo. "So, I've been trying to figure out where the Akuma is, but I haven't had much luck." She explained, still thinking about what item it could've been. Chat began to walk towards her, Marinette usually felt at ease with Chat, but right now he was giving off an uncomfortable vibe. She began to speculate about what was going on, but before she could finish her thought she heard screams coming from the opposite direction. "Come on, somebody needs our help!" She glided through the air, watching Chat stay close behind her. "Maybe he's having a bad day? she thought to herself. "I'm sorry M'lady" Chat whispered, hoping she could hear him, hoping she knew she couldn't trust him anymore. Ladybug looked a few building down, noticing the woman had a random civilian in hand, trying to draw out ladybug by threatening to drop an innocent person off the side of the building. "No! stop!" Ladybug screamed, rushing towards the woman. "Hah, I knew it." The psycho's real power was to figure out a persons fear and create the situation to best worsen it. "Please Ladybug! don't let me down!" The woman screamed as Psycho let go. Ladybug leaped off the building, rushing to catch up to her speed so that she could grab her hand. She was so determined to grab her hand she didn't realize how close she was to the ground, before she could grab the hand she was swooped up. She felt warm arms wrapped around her, she watched the woman dissipate once she hit the ground. "Thank you, Chaton, I would've died." She hugged him, Chat trying to embrace the moment for as long as he could. Ladybug realized just how dangerous this Akuma was. "Oka-" She felt Chat push her off, separating himself from her, creating a distance between them. "I want this to be fair M'lady." Ladybug was confused, assuming he was being a drama queen or something. "Oh come on Chat, now isn't the time." She said reaching for his hand, "Hawkmoth know's who I am." Ladybug gasped, a silence fell over the both of them. "I'm going to help him, if you'd like to keep people from getting hurt, hand over your miraculous, now." Marinette felt a pain, a pit slowly grow inside of her chest. Hell even her heart. "Chat... don't do this, please." her eyes starting to fill with water. "Whatever he's offering you, it'll never be enough." She said, hoping it'd knock some sense back into him. "You don't understand Ladybug. You _can't _understand. If you don't hand over your miraculous, I'll make you." He stretched out his claw, then yelling the word "Cataclysm!" a small black glow began to form around his hand, "Chat? please, listen to me!" she said, backing away, trying to figure out the best escape route. He walked towards her, almost like he was trying to give her time to figure a way out. "I'm sorry Ladybug." He jumped, eye's closed struggling to extend his hand towards her. His eyes opened to an empty ally. He couldn't help but be glad she got away. "I'm so sorry." he whispered. He detransformed, searching to find cheese he could give Plagg. Plagg wasn't talking to him, and Adrien couldn't help but feel the shame of betraying two of the people closest to him. He couldn't turn back now, even if he wanted to.___ _ _

___ _

___Ladybug's eyes filled with tears, struggling to keep her pace as she jumped rooftop to rooftop. There she is, causing chaos near the movie theater. "Focus Marinette" she thought to herself, "You can cry later." she forced down her tears, throwing her yoyo into a spiral around the Psycho. Snatching the clipboard from her hand and snapping it in half. An akuma came out, Ladybug began to say her famous words "Miraculous Ladybug!" she tried to feel positive, but the dread of the following events kept her from rejoicing. "Pou-" out of instinct she turned to the side, thinking someone would be next to her to fist bump with._ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy, you made it to the end. I congratulate you. Uh, so sorry if there wasn't enough detail.


	3. Realization's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien are both trying to cope with their superhero lives, feeling trapped, like they can't just be themselves without worrying about Ladybug or Chat Noir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to age them down, cause originally I said 16 but I think I'd rather they were still a tiny bit more innocent. Not really like it makes much of a difference, it just feel right to me. So Adrien is 14, and Marinette is 15. Adrien's birthday is going to come around soon so.

Marinette sat quietly, slowing flipping through posts about Chat and how he was betraying Ladybug. She watched the video Alya took on the ladyblog of Chat saving Ladybug as she dove towards the ground. The internet was going crazy, many people said Chat was evil, psycho and manipulative. A small few believed Chat had his reasons to why he betrayed her. People were going on talk shows, trying to diagnosis him with things based on interviews and videos of him. Marinette's head started to hurt, matching the aching pain in her heart. She didn't realize how much she cared for him, she had only fought seven battles with him, yet she felt like she knew him. "What happened Tikki?" Marinette cried out, she stood from her chair quickly leaping up onto the bed, reaching for a pillow that she could wrap her arms around. Tikki flew up to where Marinette was, left astray on what she could say to make Marinette feel better, or to just understand, cause she couldn't understand herself. "Mari, I'm sure he wouldn't turn on you unless there was a serious reason." Tikki said, giving off a more reassuring voice, something Marinette wanted to hear. "Yeah, I just." water slowly collected, she was trying so hard not to cry, but the more she thought, the more water began to fill her eyes. Her vision started to become blurry, almost like if someone looked at her she'd have a bubble over her eye. "I- I have to do this alone. He left me to do it by myself" Marinette felt the tears began to run, slowly soaking the pillow she helt in her hands, creating an awkward spot on her pillow that felt uncomfortably wet. Tikki rushed to her cheek, trying to nudge her as if she was a cat. "Marinette, you aren't alone." Tikki knew what Marinette meant, but she hoped the words would light up a small part of her that needed to hear it. "I know Tikki." 

"Class dismissed." Marinette forced herself to stand, barely watching where she was walked. She walked along the stairs, lost in thought. She was staring at a building across the street blindly. She slowly dodged the people sitting on the steps before "Marinette look out!" called Alya, trying to warn Marinette of a bag that sat in front of her foot on the ground. Marinette looked down too late, causing her to trip. She felt her left leg collapse as she started to fall towards the ground face forward. She landed on her right foot, the momentum pushing her forwards and pushing her right onto someone. Her hands rested on the concrete, her head resting on someone's shoulder, she could tell she flattened somebody due to the body under her that saved her fall. "Great job Marinette. Oh my god, I just pinned someone down." She lifted her head, causing her to come face to face with the person she fell onto. Her eyes widened, quickly turning her cheeks into a rosie pink. "Adrien!" she screamed. "No, no, no, out of everyone I could've fell onto." She thought. "I'-I- Sorry! I didn't mean to fall for you!" she exclaimed, noticing a blush falling over his cheeks, she slowly realized what she actually said, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD." she screamed internally. "I'm sorry I fell on you! not for you!!." she stumbled, realizing he was trapped under her, chest to chest, and that her face was just a few inches away from his. Her cheeks became a bright vibrant shade of red, as did Adrien's. "I-its fine Marinette." He smiled, signaling Nino to help her. Nino extended his hand to Marinette's, helping her up, and off of Adrien. "Are you okay?" he asked, his mind still astray because of the words that were just exchanged a few seconds ago. "Y-yeah. Are you?" she replied, hoping that she hadn't crushed him. "Hah, I'm good." Marinette smiled awkwardly, she did not want to make a bigger idiot of herself by messing up another sentence. "We'll, see you tomorrow. Don't hurt yourself, I won't always be there to catch you." Adrien said, walking away with Nino with a snark smirk plastered on his lips. Alya ran up to Marinette, she was laughing hysterically. "HAH, "I didn't mean to fall for you!" girl, do you like him or what?!" she laughed, patting Marinette on the back, begging her to fill her in on the details. For a few moments Marinette wasn't thinking about Chat, hoping she could keep her mind off of him for longer than five minutes. Adrien parted ways with Nino, waving him off as he began to walk through that gates. He dreaded coming home, knowing what he'd have to do, knowing what his dad was up to. Adrien could barely look at himself in the mirror. The only time he could get all the shit going on in his head to stop completely, was when Marinette fell on him. Plagg was giving Adrien the silent treatment, causing Adrien to feel worse. He knew what he was doing was wrong, it hurt him just as much as it hurt Plagg. Adrien walked into his room. He was alone, again. 

**_A few weeks later _ ****__**

"Everyone evacuate the area! Chat Noir is going to be here soon!" Ladybug shouted from the sidewalk, slowly moving her way towards the middle of the road since the police had been blocked off the roads twenty minutes ago. She warned the police to stay out of the way, to save themselves from getting caught in the middle of a fight between her and Chat. Eventually the Akuma's were used less often. Hawkmoth would just send Chat to cause some chaos to lore her out when he was lazy.

Ladybug waited, making sure each person evacuated the area before Chat returned fully charged. "You guy's lea-" a creak came from a few steps behind her, listening closely, she swung around yoyo in hand. Wrapping her yoyo around his left hand. "Gotchya!" she smirked, getting ready yo twist it around the rest of his body. "Oh m'lady, I thought you knew how much cat's love to play with string." with his right hand he pulled on the string, pulling her to his chest. He quickly reached for her ear, Ladybug instinctively kneeing him in the crouch as she elbowed him in the chest. Chat, stepped back. Racing at her at a ridiculously fast pace, causing him to run her into a brick wall. Marinette groaned, feeling a bruise forming on her back. Chat waited for the dust to clear, walking towards her thinking "I got her this time." Ladybug closed her eyes, hoping to heighten the rest of her senses. She heard the debris being knocked around with each step he took. "Silly kitty, I bet he actually think he got me this time." she thought. Chat began to reach his hand out to her earrings, trying to hold himself back from all the reason's he needed to stop, trying to stop thinking, hoping, someday she'd forgive him if he actually went through with this, a hesitation on his mind. Before he got a chance to find out, Ladybug socked him in the face. "Nice try, kitty cat." she said, rising to her feet, masking the pain she felt from being crushed into a brick wall. She walked over to him, trying to fit in one more chance for him to switch sides. "Chat, I know you still care." she said calmly, as she stood safe distance away from him. "Care about Paris, the people, even me." the way she stared up at him with her bluebell blue eyes, made him feel like she could see right through him with every word he said. Chat could feel a part of him giving in, his dad's voice started to echo in his head, reminding him of the reasons he had to do this. Chat looked down, "You're wrong." he said. He tried to believe what he was telling her, so that he could convince her to stop caring about him. "Cataclysm!" he yelled, the black glow wrapping around his hand. She stood idle, hoping this could be her last and final test for him. Hoping he would make the right decision. They stood eight feet apart. She stood behind a poll, he stood in the road. A few silent moments before Chat jumped towards her, swinging his arm at her. Ladybug quickly looping her yoyo around his hand, and swinging it into the poll. Causing Chat to slide onto the ground. "I guess I was." she whispered, feeling emtionally defeated. She looked to her left, noticing Chat had escaped. Ladybug stood there, it was quiet. The sunset had begun 20 minutes ago, the darker it became the darker her thought's were. She ran into an alleyway, quickly saying the words. "Spot's off." 

Marinette's back still hurt from the fight, this was the worst fight she had with Chat Noir yet. "If the suit keeps us from getting hurt, then why do I still feel some of the pain?" she questioned. "Well, the suit plus the miraculous pretty much keeps the damage from actually affecting you. But it can't take all of it, so it leaves you with the minor pains you get from battle. Oh, but even if you feel the pain, it doesn't show up on you unless its a really big deal. A flesh wound usually won't scare, but it'll stay for a little while." Tikki explained. Marinette sighed, feeling like someone had hit her all over her body with a hammer. "I can't believe Chat, I need to get over this. I need to be able to do what needs to be done." She was about to continue, before noticing a terrified look on Tikki's face, "You don't mean.." Tikki said, a feeling of anxiety creeping along her mind. "No! of course not." Marinette groaned, frankly she was a little mad that Tikki thought she'd go that far. "I couldn't live with that kind of guilt." 

Chat returned, empty handed as he usually did. "Adrien, you've failed me again." spoke Gabriel, batting a disappointed eye. "You know what you have to be ready to do." he said, an awkward stare between the two of them causing a quiet reply. "I know." Adrien whispered, a tired look sweeping across his face. "Go up to your room and practice piano." Adrien rolled his eyes, quickly rushing up to his room. Lately he had been feeling better, pretending everything wasn't going wrong. It got easier and easier for him to let himself go the more he pretended he didn't care. He stopped trying to talk to Plagg, the only interactions between the two was when Adrien gave him cheese, even then he wouldn't talk to him. The only time Adrien was ever happy at all, was when he was at school, or with his friends. They were the only distractions his mind would let him have. Before when he was Chat, and his dad didn't know. He'd escape out the window as Chat Noir, but now that his dad knew he was Chat, and the rest of Paris hated him. He couldn't leave without coverage of him as Adrien, or Chat because either way it'd be reported back to his dad. He sighed. An Idea lit up his face, remembering an old chest of clothes and wigs his mom gave to him on his 13th birthday. Adrien threw on a sweater, a brown haired wig, and sunglasses. "I hope this works." 

He watched for the door, as Nathalie went into the office and the bodyguard to the bathroom. "This is my chance.." he thought. He ran towards the door, silently shutting it as he wondered out onto the street. "I did it!" he smiled, beginning to run his way over to the park. "Hey Nino! wanna hang out with me?" a smile creeping along his lips. "I can't sorry." Adrien sighed, bummed out but he was sure somebody else would have time. He ended up calling four other people, even Chloe, until he finally gave up. He was a few steps from the entrance of the park. He began to feel the usual pain's in his chest and the pit in his stomach begin to reform, before noticing a bakery on the corner with the name, "Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie" it looked like a nice place. "I hope they aren't closed." he sighed, walking over to the sign to check the Sunday hours. "Sunday 6-10p.m." he opened the door. The bell made a slight ring, alerting the workers that someone had walked in. There stood a short woman, seeming to be in her mid forties. She wore an apron, and her hair went right about to her chin. The main noticeable thing about her was her smile. Adrien hadn't seen someone smile the way she did in a while. It was weird, her smile reminded him of how his mom smiled when she looked at him. "I- Uh- it- Hi there." his hand rising up behind his back, rubbing his neck. "Sorry. You just remind me of someone." He chuckled, hoping he didn't end up making things awkward by saying that. "What's your name?" she asked, still flashing the same warm smile. "A-Adrien." he replied. He noticed her smile shift into a thoughtful, but kind of neutral expression. "Is something wrong?" he asked, hoping he didn't do something wrong. "Oh, no. I just was wondering? are you Adrien Agreste?" Adrien gave an awkward smile, thinking "Great, guess my disguise isn't that good." he assumed she'd try and take a picture, maybe even end up leaking it to the press. "Guess it doesn't matter how expensive your wig is." he gave an awkward chuckle. She laughed, "You go to school with my daughter!" she smiled, then scurried to the back of the bakery. Adrien began to ponder, who's mom was he talking to? Adrien noticed her running around grabbing tons of bakery items, feeling bad realizing she probably had a big order, and he was distracting her from finishing it. She was holding a few box's and little see-through bags. "I'm sorry for distracting you, do you need any help?" he asked, hoping he could assist her somehow. She stayed quiet, quickly returning back to him with a big box, put inside of a recyclable bag. "This is for you!" she grinned, slowly handing him the bag. "W-wow, this is, really sweet." his inner thoughts laughing about his stupid pun. "let me pay for this." he said, returning to a more serious manner. He reached for his wallet. "Put that back! this is on the house." she smiled, pushing the hand that held the wallet back down. Adrien smiled, "So, who's your daughter?" he asked. Him and Plagg weren't on speaking terms, but Adrien could've sworn he heard Plagg say, "This kid is so dense." Adrien was shocked, he was sure he was just hearing things. "Marientte, Marientte Dupain-Cheng." she said as she pointed to a family photo of them on the wall. Adrien then realized, "Wow I am dense." he thought. "I should've known, I can see where Marinette grew to be so kind." he smiled, realizing how quickly he said that without thought. "Thank you!" she smiled, grabbing the bag and placing it down. Adrien was a little confused, she quickly pulled him into a hug. Adrien was naturally stiff, he hadn't hugged anyone in a long time. He started to return the hug, happily remembering how it felt to have someone so.. nurturing hug you. He couldn't help but be a little jealous of Marinette, maybe a tad more than a little. "Thank you so much." he said as he made his way out of the bakery.

 

Adrien wore a smile, one he could really feel. He wished he lived around someone that cared so much, especially for someone she didn't even know. Adrien checked his phone. "Only 8:30, ugh." he groaned. He began to walk towards the park again, thinking he could sit on the bench and eat. Listen to some music to keep his mind from going to a dark place. He started to make his way over, when he turned the corner and walked right into someone. He luckily didn't fall, but the person that hit him wasn't as lucky. Adrien quickly placed the box down onto the bench, "I am so sorry!" he said, only seeing the top of the girl's head, which was mainly covered by a beanie. It didn't help that the light was dim and kind of orange on this side of the street. "It's fine, it was my fault anyway." The girl looked up, seeing a boy in sunglasses, distracting her from her fall. "Are you wearing sunglasses?" she laughed, revealing her face to Adrien showing that the girl he had walked into, was Marinette. She pointing to her phone's lockscreen, showing the time. "It's literally 8:32" she giggled. She noticed the boy was staring, worrying that she had insulted him. She then quickly apologized, "Oh! I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend you." Adrien quickly started to laugh, "Don't you recognize who I am?" Marinette raised her eyebrow, she started to think she had met this boy and forgot who he was. "Uh.. I don't- uhm. Maybe?" her face showcasing the fear that she insulted him further by not remembering who he was. Adrien placed a finger on his sunglasses, pressing them further down so that she could see his eyes. flashing her a wink. "A-A-ADR-" Adrien shushed her, turning his head to make sure nobody was around. "Don't blow my cover." he winked, causing Marinette to blush. "O-oh," she blurted out an awkward giggle. "I'm sorry you fell for me." he joked, closing his eyes as he laughed. Not noticing Marinette's face turning a bright shade of pink. "H-aha, yeah!" her smile widening, and her pupils dilating. "I don't know if I can take much of of his gorgeous face!!" she thought, trying to maintain her cool. "So what are you doing out so late?" he asked curiously, he never really saw her wear anything besides a few different items of clothing, and here she was wearing a beanie, leggings, and a big dark grey, sweater. "Oh, I was meeting up with a friend of my dad's, she was giving me some of her daughter's old clothes." she said, looking down and gripping onto the bottom of her sweater. "You look nice." he said thoughtlessly. "I mean! it looks nice." A sudden panic crossing over his face, "Not that you don't look nice!" he placed his hand onto his head, rubbing it furiously. Marinette started to laugh, "I get what you meant." she said, feeling accomplished that she could say a few sentence's without completely embarrassing herself. Marinette, had felt pretty crappy all day, she knew there was something that could help. She also believed it could go horribly wrong, but she'd do anything to distract her from her problems. Even if it meant working up her confidence to ask, "Adrien, do you wanna go watch a movie?" Adrien was kind of surprised, him and Marinette had never actually hung out before. The only time they saw each other was at school. It wasn't that he didn't like Marinette, they just always seemed to have some type of jinx. Whenever he talked to her, something, or somebody would get in the way. "Yeah, sure." he smiled, then realizing the huge box of goodies her mom gave to him. "Well, I just realized," Marinette started to assume the worst. "I shouldn't have asked. He wouldn't like such a clumsy girl like you." she thought to herself, her eyes wandering to the ground, and her smile starting to fade. "Your mom gave me a large box of like, pastry stuff and I don't think I can bring it in with me." he continued, again bringing his hand up to his neck and rubbing it as he usually did when something was awkward, or a little bit uncomfortable. Marinette smiled, relaxing her shoulders, and taking a breath, telling herself to stop assuming the worst. "That's easy, just leave them with my mom and we can pick them up on the way back." she said, grabbing the box. He watched as Marinette ran inside the bakery, nearly tripping as she ran through the door. He couldn't help but chuckle, she had a lot of character. He was glad that things turned out this way, as much as he loved Nino, it was nice getting the chance to hang out with Marinette. She stumbled her way back, he noticed she had quickly put on some makeup, thought he just assumed she didn't want to go out without a touch up, but he thought she was pretty without it. They both started to walk. This was the first time he had really noticed just how much taller he was than her. Her eye's went about to his chin, he had never really thought much about it, but now that he had he was surprised he didn't notice earlier. 

"It should be another block down." she said, pulling up google maps on her phone. Marinette and Adrien both couldn't help but notice how many couples walked by them on the street. Marinette started to become embarrassed, she thought about people thinking she was dating him, even if he didn't exactly look like himself at the moment. "So what do you wanna watch?" he asked, watching Marinette become a slight bit flustered "I-I, don't care. Anything I get to do with you is fine by me." she replied, her body stiffening up, nearly collapsing from fucking up another sentence. "God Marinette!! get it together!" she thought. "I-I meant, anything that you want to watch is fine with me, heheh" she gave a raddled giggle. Adrien started laughing, "Do I make you nervous?" he asked, oblivious to why he actually made her nervous. She started to freeze up, "Come on Marinette, you can do this!" Tikki whispered. "Ye-yeah, it's just we don't hang out often. and I, -I, um. I don't know. If I'm being h-honest, I'm a little afraid you're not going to like me. Compared to Chloe, Kagami, and Lila I'm just, not as cool as them, I don't think I'm cool enough to be your frien-" Her words were interrupted, catching her in a gaze, he had grabbed her hands, for a moment there she thought she was having tunnel vision. She looked up at him and the only thing she could see was his face. Her own face had started becoming the same bright red it was when she had fallen onto him. "Marinette, I've always thought you were amazing, you stand up for others, and yourself. You're cool in a crisis, and make sur everyone's okay. I love that you don't try to fit in, you just love what you love no matter its popularity. If I'm being honest, I don't know if _I _deserve to be _your _friend." Marinette was speechless, "you? not good enough to be my friend?" she released his hands, wrapping him into a hug. Hoping that he wasn't just saying that to make her feel better. Adrien felt lucky, two hugs in one night, by two amazing people. "You're definitely worthy" she laughed, hugging him tighter, he laughed following the remark, as he returned it the hug. Both of them happily ignoring the stares of the people walking by. "Okay" she said, as she wiggled out of his arm's and they continued walking. "So, what do you want to watch." Adrien thought, he hadn't watched a movie in a while. Come to think of it, he had never watched a movie without his bodyguard or Nathalie, nor had he ever watched one with a friend. He heard Plagg cough, and then cough again. But this time he could've sworn he heard him cough the word "Horror" Adrien thought, thinking it would be an entertaining movie to watch. "Well, we could watch.." Adrien paused, stopping in his tracks in front of an advertisement for a movie. Marinette turned around, hurrying to his side. "What's up Adrien?!" she said, almost grabbing his hand by instinct, before quickly coming to her senses. "That's my mom." he said, pointing to the woman standing in the picture." Marinette was shocked, she had no idea Adrien's mom starred in a movie. "We should watch that! it say's it came out ten years ago!" she said, watching him turn to her, "We don't have to, it could be, boring or something." he said, trying to figure out if it was a good idea emotionally to watch. "Oh come on, I know you're dying to see it!" she grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the ticket booth. Adrien felt a smile pulling at his lips, he didn't realize how easily he got along with Marinette. "Fine, fine. You win." he said.____

_____ _

Marinette and Adrien walked out of the movie, Marinette's quick appliance of mascara screwing her over. "God I look like such as mess" she giggled, hiding her face with her hands. Adrien laughed, grabbing her hands and moving them in a circular motion away from each other, until her hands were back to her side. He moved a strand of her hair to the side, gently rubbing off the mascara that had smudged underneath her eye with his thumb. "A-Adrien." her eyes piercing with a longing, she really just wanted kiss to his stupid perfect face. Adrien released her face, replying with "I think I got it off?" then giving her his phone to check in the camera. Marinette let the moment pass by, guessing she'd never have a moment like that to take the opportunity again. "Y-yeah, it looks like you got it." she said, her voice slightly betraying disappointment. Plagg was frustrated, yeah he was mad at Adrien, but god, Adiren couldn't be anymore blind. "That movie was so good!" she said returning back to a more ecstatic mood. "It was so romantic, and so sweet. I had no idea what a good actress your mom was." she looked up at the stars, remembering the scenes and the things she wanted to say after the movie, so that she didn't spoil the moments on screen. She was so lost in thought she didn't notice Adrien staring down at the floor. Adrien didn't even know his mom was in a movie, given it was a little more adult which is probably why she hadn't told him yet. But his dad never mentioned a thing. Marinette turned to look at him, her smile fading away. "Adrien, are you okay?" she said, noticing the longing look in his eye's to see his mom. Adrien could feel a small lump in his throat, and the emotions starting to hit him. "Adrien, do you want to talk about it?" she said, grabbing his hand and guiding him over to an empty bench. Adrien didn't want to talk about it, he just wanted the feeling to go away. He didn't want the feelings to exist, cause if his mom had never left, he never would've felt the feelings he felt in the first place. Marinette still had her hand in his, hoping it was helping more than making him feel uncomfortable. "Adrie-" Adrien started to cry, burying his head into his hands. "We don't have to talk" she said, wrapping her arm around him and letting him lean his head onto her shoulder. Marinette had never seen him so upset, she's never seen him upset in general. She wished she could do more. Eventually he moved his head down to her lap, her hand still holding his. Adrien cried, leaving Marinette to think and wonder what was wrong. Marinette wasn't going to force him to tell her, but she was glad she was here with him, hoping she was helping in some way or another. "I'm sorry Marinette." he said, his tear's starting to slow down their pace. "I ruined the night for you didn't I." he said as he dried the tears from his eyes, noticing the water stains he formed on Marinette's leggings. "Ugh, and now your legging's are kind of wet, and that must feel uncomfortable." He said, letting go of her hand and slowly rising back into an upright position. Marinette gave a half smile, "You don't need to apologize. I want to help you as much as I can. Sorry If I wasn't very helpful though." she said, wandering her gaze away. "You have no idea how much you've helped me tonight Marinette." he replied, feeling a bit better after finally releasing how he had been feeling. "I'm not exactly sure how long I've been crying for?" he said, feeling a bit awkward that he made her sit there for god knows how long. "Well, I saw the time when you let me use your phone to see how I looked. It was 10:34." She said, as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "It's 11:19 now." she said, hoping she didn't sound passive aggressive, or insensitive. "forty five minutes? it felt like ten for me." he said, awkwardly putting his hand behind his head. Marinette laughed, "Personally it felt like twenty minutes for me, but I didn't mind." she said, as she started to start the walk back to the bakery. "Let's go back, I don't want your dad to worry about you." She said, tugging on his jacket.

"Looks like we made it back alive" she grinned, "I'll go get your box, give me a second!" she said, reaching for the door and rushing in to find the box. She returned a few minutes later, I added something to the box. Text me if you can guess what it is." She teased, giving him a kind of unintentional flirty smile. "I don't think I have your phone number." Marinette looked away deviously, "I might've called my number and created a contact while you were crying.. I know I'm a horrible person! but you left your phone unlocked." she said, feeling a bit of guilt. "I'm glad you did, I hope we can hangout again soon." he was content, he hadn't felt a connection like this since.. "Ladybug" he thought. His mood started to noticeably fade. "Come on, cheer up! you still have to figure out which thing _I _, the wonderous, amazing, miraculous, Marinette made." She giggled, her hand's covering her face but leaving a small opening for her eyes, she then twirled into a bow, nearly knocking herself over. "Be careful." he laughed, "I'll text you when I think I've figured it out." He said, continuing with, "I want a contact photo, if you don't mind myl-" he quickly caught himself, causing a small blush along his cheeks. "I mean madame." Marinette thought, "I look pretty horrible right now, but Adrien want's a photo of me.. whatever." She gave a node, waiting for him to signal to pose. "Before I take the picture, 'Marinette..." a grin slowly began to spread across his face, "You take away the looks, money, intelligence, charm and success and, really, there's no real difference between me and George Clooney.'" Marinette was confused, but out of the confusion came laughter. Adrien quickly snapped the photo, getting a cute photo of Marinette laughing. "Oh come on! you can't spring a random cheesy joke like that and expect me to look nice when you take a picture." she said, reaching for the phone. "That was so, not fair!" Adrien began to laugh too, giving Marientte the opportunity to take out her phone. She struggled to open her phone, rushing to open her camera before he stopped. "And... GOTCHA" she thought. She began to hum, flashing a devilish grin. "Would you look at that." she said, looking at her phone and ignoring Adrien. He stopped laughing, quickly realizing the error in his ways. "Oh no.." he looked over her shoulder. "That is not a good photo." he said, letting out a small chuckle. "Yikes" Marinette said in a mocking tone. "Look's like we're both stuck with our photos." she said. "Well, I should start walking back" he said. Both of them standing, not knowing what the appropriate good bye should be. Marinette walked up to him, "I'd hug you but I think the box would hurt the both of us." she giggled. "Hah, yeah. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." He said, Marinette returning with a smile. She turned around and walked through the bakery doors. Waving from the glass windows. "That was... almost perfect Tikki." she squealed, running up the stairs, then through the kitchen, and into her room. She was feeling so happy, she could almost start crying. "Hey Alya! you won't believe what happened tonight!" she screamed. Tikki laughed, leaving her and Alya to yell at each other through the phone all night.__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is still oblivious to Marinette's feelings. He's flirty towards her kind of unknowingly. Almost like most of the decision's for her are made by his self conscious. The reason Plagg isn't completely ignoring Adrien is because he's noticing that maybe Marinette could help win him back. I also decided Seven battles was more reasonable than five.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that a lot of this chapter is just recapping things we already know, but I wanted to get my facts straight so yeah. The next chapter will be more new, meaning that it'll be more from my imagination. Hope you made it to the end without ending your own life. I'm just trying to improve my writing so here we go. I'll be messing with my writing style.


End file.
